WALL STREET: Cautious investors focused on earnings reports from U.S. companies including Facebook and Merck. Ryder System, a truck leasing company, fell 8 percent after earnings fell short of expectations. Ralph Lauren plunged 12 percent after announcing its CEO of two years was leaving. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 6.03 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 19,884.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.30 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,280.85 and the Nasdaq composite fell 6.45 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,636.20.

TRUMP EFFECT: Some investors worry President Donald Trump's actions including last week's immigration ban, comments on trade and tough talk toward Mexico, Australia and Iran might hurt business confidence and the economy. After a post-election rally that pushed stocks to all-time highs and the Dow above the 20,000-point mark, investors have stepped back this week.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Worries over the nature of Trump's presidency have overshadowed the figures," said Alex Furber of CMC Markets in a report. "Trump has alarmed markets by pursuing a controversial, protectionist political agenda," said Furber. "In his latest performance piece, the new president rattled relations with Australia yesterday and fired strong words towards Iran."

US JOBS: Investors looked ahead to government data on hiring for January. Some of that uncertainty could come Friday with the government's jobs report for January. For this report, the first that will be at least partially under the tenure of President Trump, economists estimate employers created 175,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate remained at 4.7 percent, according to FactSet. However some recent data, including Wednesday's ADP private sector report, has given some traders hope for a jobs report over 200,000.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 16 cents to $53.71 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 34 cents on Thursday to close at $53.54. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 17 cents to $56.73 in London. It shed 24 cents the previous session to $56.56.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 112.65 from Thursday's 112.93. The euro edged up to $1.0760 from $1.0759.